HND Business Unit 44: Pitching and Negotiation Skills Report Analysis

This report delves into the critical aspects of pitching and negotiation skills within the context of business development, specifically focusing on the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. It examines the RFP process, its steps, and its significance in helping companies like Sheldon Interiors make informed decisions, solve problems, and achieve project success. The report explores the importance of preparing effective RFP proposals, identifying areas for improvement, and understanding the outcomes of the RFP process for future tenders. It outlines the key steps involved in the RFP process, from identifying project boundaries and key stakeholders to circulating RFPs, reviewing responses, researching vendors, and negotiating contracts. The report also provides a detailed analysis of how the RFP process can lead to successful outcomes, including compliance checks, evaluation, scoring, and negotiation strategies. Overall, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively use pitching and negotiation skills to achieve business objectives.

Pitching and Negotiation
Skills
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Table of Contents
Pitching and Negotiation Skills.......................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
What is RFP process and how it can help Sheldon Interiors.......................................................3
Outcomes of RFP process for future tenders...............................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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INTRODUCTION
Pitching and negotiation skills play an important role in reducing conflicts and
completing project in a successful and in an effective manner (Mejia-Arauz and et.al., 2018).
This study is going to show some steps included in RFP process ans how it helps companies in
solving problems as well as completing their project successful. Further, it will also discuss
effectiveness of preparing RFP proposal along with all those areas which require improvement.
What is RFP process and how it can help Sheldon Interiors
A request for proposal (RFP) refers a document which consists of some steps for bidding
process by those companies and agencies who are interested in procurement of a commodity and
valuable asset. It can be said that this document help companies about knowing projects'
requirements, problems which might occur in the future along with appropriate solutions from
qualified vendors. In the context of Sheldon Interiors it can be said that by completing all steps
and making an effective proposal or RFP, it can take better decisions about completing project in
an effective manner as per estimated cost and planning.
There are several organizations who want to complete project but due to lack of planning
and inappropriate RFP process they got failed. So, it can be said that by experts views and
appropriate resources, Sheldon Interiors can meet its objectives and needs internally. One of the
main decision which companies require taking in order to make their project successful is hiring
an outside organization or partner. This answer and decision about this can be taken by RFP
process because this document consists of several steps, required needs of projects and solutions
of each query or problem related to cost, quality, timing and others. Well maintained and
developed RFPs then introduced an organization to high quality vendor partners as well as
outsiders consultants in order to make sure that project will be managed and completed as per the
planning (von Windheim, 2020). For making project of refurbish governmental department
offices with negotiation and in cost effective manner it is important to follow or complete all
steps of RFP process such as:
Identification of reason of making RFP. There are mainly 3 reasons of companies of
completing process of RFP and preparing RFP such as: finding the best suited vendor as per the
needs of company, a good governance and accountability and needs assessment. After
identifying reasons, company can follow some common steps. There are several steps which
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varies as per the reason. But here are some common steps which Sheldon Interiors can follow
such as:
Establishment of project's boundaries: Knowing project constraints is one of the main step
which can be known by companies by asking leaders and stakeholders. One of the common
project constraints is expected total approved budget for the project, timeline of completing
project and deadline of completion and requirement of resources and techniques for making it
successful. After identifying all project constraints, further steps can be completed in an effective
manner.
Identification of key stakeholders and advisors: Writing an RFP is not an easy tasks as
companies and staff have to complete several tasks such as measuring knowing knowledge of
company, skills of vendors and consultants for knowing if there is requirement of additional
resources or not. For each process, company needs to assign tasks to appropriate person or a
small group of stakeholder. After that for monitoring leader can evaluate responses. By
communicating all required things with stakeholders next steps can be proceeded (Al-Fedaghi
and Al-Otaibi, 2018).
Creating a draft of scoring criteria: After communicating with stakeholders or all staff
members about project, company then needs to draft their scoring criteria. This set criteria play
an important role as they reflect priorities of project and company as well. By marking and
giving replies on a scale of 1-10 for each set criteria, they can measure effectiveness of project.
Experience working with non-profit organizations can count for around 30% of total score as
Sheldon Interiors wants to negotiate process for refurbishing of governmental department.
Circulating RFP: All work completed by company will be nothing if they do not represent RFP
to vendors or if vendors do not see RFP. It is important for company to decide area for posting
RFP as it directly affects their image and effectiveness. Selection of area of posting or publishing
RFP depends upon the type of vendors to whom company wants to approach. If company wants
to work with local companies then they focus on finding business journals for their region and
accordingly post a short notification. And if company wants to work closely with consultants
who are skilled and have experience of working with non-profit organizations then company
needs to post RFP in non-profit news outlets. Sheldon Interiors can do this and can get RFP
databases free as online resources (A RFP Process, 2011).
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Reviewing responses: After circulating and preparing RFP it is important to perform an initial
read through of responses and paying attention to proposed solution.
In this RFP process, proposal manager requiring developing a document and he is the one who is
responsible for managing the whole process. In this RFP, after developing document, they also
require identifying milestone and they are being performed by all participants or not. In this
current document of Sheldon Interiors it can be said that identification of technologies, creating
scoring criteria and identifying the best advisor are some milestone and by following all tghese
steps and functions, it can accomplish its goals.
Identification of technologies: Sometimes it happens that vendors suggest some solutions of
problems which were nit being encountered before and at that time companies take quick action
which can create problems for them. So, before dismissing them it is important for Sheldon
Interiors to focus on research at their own and identify all problems, reasons as novel technology
is considered one of the better tools than any other tools. For example, if company distributes its
RFP for website redesign and vendor's response recommend that company about content
management system then solutions taken by company might suit their identified needs along
with effective features. Community Forum, Ideal ware are some software.
Researching Vendor's track records: It is one of the main step which needs to be followed by
company in order to identify performance of vendors who are competing for company. Local
technology mailing is known as an effective place from where company can start for this
purpose. By asking some questions and references from RFP respondents they can measure
effectiveness of performance. It is important to evaluate that whether references and responses
are matching with projects in terms of size, timing, budget and audience. After narrowing down a
list of respondents, it can be beneficial for companies to arrange in person meetings with
finalists. After that they also require to score all responses and selecting vendor (Su and et.al.,
2017).
Negotiating contract: After selecting vendor, company needs to sign on negotiation contract.
RFP response is a proposal which can be accepted by company and use it in refining details at
the time of following up conversation with vendor.
So, from the above discussed process of RFP, it can be said that Sheldon Interiors can complete
negotiation process in an effective manner with governmental department for refurbishing
offices.
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Outcomes of RFP process for future tenders
It is stated that request of proposal is one of the main and initial steps in a procurement
process as after proposing this, RFQ is being issued on their own services and goods which are
standardized. By making or preparing RFP process for soliciting bids from skilled or qualified
vendors and selecting the best suited vendor with needs of project, company can accomplish
their goals and complete project successful. For knowing outcomes and effectiveness of RFP
process it is important to evaluate the whole process such as:
Compliance: Searching proposals for compliance can help company out in making
effective decisions as well as measuring effectiveness of RFP process. By asking questions
regarding project and goals, company cam identify as whether RFP process is effective and it can
help company in accomplishing their all goals. Some questions which company may ask while
evaluating RFP process include: are they qualified in ways that they requested? Is there budget
anywhere within their means as one of the main purpose is completing project successful in a
cost effective manner. It is beneficial for companies who have large number of proposals to go
through (Bessa, Santos and Duarte, 2019). If anyone of proposal become fails then company
needs to think about it that this bidder now will not work for their needs. It is also important for
company to appraise vendors who supported company in making their project successful and for
retaining them with the company for the long run.
Evaluation and scoring: After evaluating RFP process and eliminating some proposals
by company it is important to re-evaluate rest of proposals in order to make decision and
knowing outcomes of RFP process. It is one of the tricky step which can take time and failure in
evaluation can lead some problems so, it is important for company to utilize all staff members
and employees in evaluation of proposal process. Team working and collaboration ca reduce
chances of errors and can get effective outcomes which RFP process have on project and
performance of the company and letting them know if they have completed their project in
estimated cost or it can be negotiated. By making use of effective evaluation strategies and tools
company can complete this evaluation process in an effective manner. Split Up, shortlisting,
negotiation are some effective evaluation strategies.
For Sheldon Interiors, negotiation evaluation strategies will be the best. As per this
strategy of evaluation, it requires to narrow its choices into 2 bidders and it wants to know that
whether it can negotiate prices or given deadline of project or not. After making final decision
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about bidder, they need to think and discuss with all members as if they are okay with all details
which are listed in their final selected proposal. At the time of contract development it can make
negotiations on time and budget. But bidder can decide as they want to make changes or not and
it depends on the time as when they made agreement and agreed on terms and conditions
(Dallolio and et.al., 2016). So, it is important to talk about negotiation before making final
decision and agreed on all terms of agreement. If some problems and factor restrict company in
making final decision then they can seek for time and ask additional questions for getting clarity
on details. In some situations and cases, they can invite bidders in order to submit their final
offer.
So, overall it can be said that after completing process of RFP and once RFP is done,
company assume that they are being awarded the contract, they need to meet awarding company
or agency in order to create further tasks or work. After completing this they also need to provide
a timeline, strategy, resource plan etc. For managing bid and completing tender process in the
future, company will require to perform some functions which include:
Managing bid submission on the behalf of consortium. Coordinating preparation of successive
RFP responses if company feel requirement. Managing all key elements or important tasks such
as financial feasibility reviews and others. Identification of effective and appropriate resources
by which they can complete the RFP response as: in-house resources, external advisers, logistics
etc. Preparing budget of RFP' proposal which can help company out in identifying and
estimating budget by knowing direct and indirect cost. It may also include finance and
contribution from sponsors. After taking contribution, it is responsibility of company to Draft
proposals for the project sponsors which steer committee to approve. It may be a key decision to
the company about approaches by which they can make their position to adopt in the RFP
response. The last step for future tender is dealing with representative of procuring authority
whenever required.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it has been summarized that RFP process or request for proposal
process played an important role in making a project successful in estimated budget and
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negotiating with other companies. Further, it has discussed effective outcomes of RFP process
along with some requirement of improvement for making the best decision.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Al-Fedaghi, S. and Al-Otaibi, M., 2018. Conceptual modeling of a procurement process: Case
study of RFP for public key infrastructure. arXiv preprint arXiv:1812.01792.
Bessa, B.R., Santos, S. and Duarte, B.J., 2019. Toward effectiveness and authenticity in PBL: A
proposal based on a virtual learning environment in computing education. Computer
Applications in Engineering Education. 27(2). pp.452-471.
Dallolio, L. and et.al., 2016. Proposal for an enhanced physical education program in the primary
school: Evaluation of feasibility and effectiveness in improving physical skills and
fitness. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 13(10). pp.1025-1034.
Mejia-Arauz, R. and et.al., 2018. Collaboration or negotiation: Two ways of interacting suggest
how shared thinking develops. Current opinion in psychology. 23. pp.117-123.
Su, M. and et.al., 2017, April. Rfp: When rpc is faster than server-bypass with rdma. In
Proceedings of the Twelfth European Conference on Computer Systems (pp. 1-15).
von Windheim, J., 2020. Pitching and Flailing. In The Startup(pp. 145-152). Springer, Cham.
Online
A RFP Process. 2011. [Online]. Available through <https://www.techsoup.org/support/articles-
and-how-tos/overview-of-the-rfp-process>
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